Tsiolkas, author of The Slap – the bestseller that took the lid off middle-class Australia – addresses success and failure in his follow-up book.

Protagonist Danny Kelly – a name that nods both to outlaw Ned Kelly as well as Roald Dahl's champion of the world – is a swimmer first and foremost; his strength and power in the pool are the reason he has gained a scholarship to "Cunts' College", as it is known throughout the book. His talent is all he has to protect himself against the "golden boys", the faceless privileged who would never want a "wog" like Danny – half Greek, half Scottish – in their midst. With the help of coach Frank Torma, he makes winning his motto, the "Barracuda" of the title always straining to thrash the competition. Next stop, the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Except it isn't. Through flash-forwards to 2010, it is clear that Danny's life is not that of a champion; the gilded future he imagined for himself was a mirage. Dan – plain Dan, now – is working with disabled people who are coming to terms with traumatic events (much like, it is hinted, Danny); he has been in prison; he tells his Glaswegian boyfriend he "can't swim". Slowly, the book moves towards what happens when a life whose sole aim is sporting victory is thwarted – and it's not pretty. The set piece, which details "Psycho Dan's" nadir against the background of the Sydney Olympics, should be read from behind splayed fingers.

Tsiolkas also tackles contemporary Australian attitudes towards class, race and sexuality in a sprawling manner reminiscent of the 19th-century novels he namechecks in the book. Dan's well-drawn family provide a backdrop to his struggles with his identity – his shame at his family's origins; his acknowledgment of his homosexuality only after his competitive life is over. With failure, Danny's hard-edged character becomes deeper and more nuanced. Although occasionally unsophisticated and repetitive, Barracuda ultimately succeeds in painting a deeply involving portrait of failure: of the pain that can result when a mind mired in shame turns against itself.